SP Claims 8-2 Deal On Bypolls Final, Congress Says 'Not Aware'

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party on Thursday said that they have agreed on 8-2 split on bypolls seats with Congress in the upcoming byelections, however, the ‘Grand Old Party’ said it was not aware of this settlement. Akhilesh Yadav 's party said its INDIA bloc ally Congress has agreed to contest two of the 10 seats where bypolls are due in Uttar Pradesh but Congress state chief Ajay Rai claimed "we are not aware of this". The Election Commission has announced bypolls on 9 out of 10 seats where elections are due.  

"Our agreement is final with the Congress . Of the 10 seats, the Congress will contest on two Khair (Aligarh) and Ghaziabad, while on the rest eight, the SP will contest," SP Spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhury said.

But when contacted, Congress state President Ajay Rai said, "We are not aware of this. As of now, we stand by our demand of five seats." The SP has already declared candidates for seven seats including Meerapur from where it has fielded Sumbhul Rana.

Which seats in UP will see bypolls and when? 

Bypolls are set to be held to 10 assembly seats -- Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Milkipur (Ayodhya), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sisamau (Kanpur city), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj) and Kundarki (Moradabad).

Nine of these seats fell vacant after its MLAs were elected as MPs in the Lok Sabha polls, while bypolls are being held in the Sisamau seat due to the disqualification of SP MLA Irfan Solanki, who was convicted in a criminal case.

Except Milkipur, the Election Commission has announced polls on the rest nine seats. The polling seats will be held on November 13.